Best BBQ in Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona — updated August 22, 2026
Four Scottsdale smokehouses ranked by what the ratings actually prove, from a 2,000-review standby on Bell Road to a smaller shop off 90th Street.
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Scottsdale is not a barbecue town by reputation, which means the field here is small and the gaps between places are wide. Four spots carry enough reviews to say something useful: one Memphis-style pit house on North Scottsdale Road, a smokehouse bar in Old Town, a neighborhood shop in the 90th Street corridor, and a Bell Road operation with more than 2,100 ratings behind it. We ranked them by how settled each rating is, not just how high.
1. The Thumb
The most thoroughly tested barbecue rating in Scottsdale: 4.4 stars across 2,184 reviews, a figure large enough that it is unlikely to move much in either direction. Volume at that scale usually means consistency rather than a good week, and it is the main reason The Thumb leads this list over places with a higher headline number. It sits well north of Old Town at 9393 E Bell Rd, closer to the north Scottsdale residential stretch than to the tourist core, so it draws a regular local crowd rather than a visiting one. Worth checking hours before a long drive, since the brief does not confirm them.
2. NakedQ BBQ
The highest-rated barbecue in Scottsdale at 4.5 stars, with 668 reviews standing behind it. That is not the largest sample on this list, but it is well past the point where a rating is just early enthusiasm, and it is the best combination of score and evidence in the city. The address, 10240 N 90th St Ste 105, puts it in a suite in a commercial strip rather than on a main drag, which tends to mean a room built around the food and a steady lunch trade. If the ranking were purely by rating, this would be first.
3. Boo and Henry's Memphis Pit BBQ Restaurant
The one place on this list that names its regional style outright: Memphis pit barbecue, at 16500 N Scottsdale Rd #100. It holds 4.2 stars from 507 reviews, a moderate sample that puts the rating on reasonably solid ground without the weight of the two entries above it. That is a fair description rather than a knock. If you want a specific tradition rather than a general smokehouse menu, this is the address that advertises one, and its north Scottsdale Road location makes it an easy stop off the 101 corridor.
4. Bootleggers Modern American Smokehouse
Listed as a bar rather than a restaurant, and that distinction matters when you are choosing where to eat. Bootleggers sits at 7217 E 1st St in Old Town Scottsdale, the busiest walking district in the city, and it has collected 1,973 reviews at 4.1 stars. The count is large, so the rating is settled; it is simply the lowest of the four. Go for barbecue in a bar setting within walking distance of the Old Town bars and galleries, and expect the room to fill on weekend evenings given the location.
What we left off
Rudy's "Country Store" and Bar-B-Q on North Northsight Boulevard appeared in the earlier version of this guide. It rates 4.3 from 460 reviews, but it is a multi-state chain, and this guide covers independent Scottsdale operators only.